Dish of The Week #2 - Wood-Fired Courgettes @ Solera

Solera - 165 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui, 3116, NZ

 

- Wood-Fired Courgette -  

mint dressing, spicy whipped tofu, almonds, edamame

$24

 

Who would have thought a couple of courgettes could be the highlight of a meal? Not me as a rampant meat-eater! But these courgettes at Solera were sensational, perfect from a light grilling and with a clever mix of textures and flavours sitting on top. They went very quickly!

 

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Lantern - a great new Papamoa restaurant!

LANTERN

Cuisine: Southeast Asian 

Address: 20 Domain Rd, Papamoa 

Phone: 07-262 3113 

Website 

Drinks: Licensed 

Reservations: recommended 

 

I'm a bit out of touch with Papamoa restaurants which is why I missed the arrival of Lantern, the recent Southeast Asian restaurant and bar occupying a space that I believe once used to house the garden bar of the Papamoa Tavern. It is a lovely spot and surprisingly large.

 

Here it is, easy to miss from Domain Road but spacious inside with airy white wooden buildings and an outdoor-indoor space that also includes (unseen in the pic) a courtyard bar with leaners to the left and a hidden seated area with tables for two amongst the palms round to the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service was young, friendly and informed and we had a light lunch. But first of all we had the restaurant's two signature cocktails, both tributes to legendary Asian bars. There are also another half-dozen bespoke cocktail offerings and a small but well-chosen and interesting winelist.

 

• JUNGLE BIRD (From the Aviary Bar in Malaysia)      dark rum, Campari, pineapple, lemon     $18
• SINGAPORE SLING (from the Raffles Hotel)               gin, cherry liqueur, Cointreau, DOM Benedictine, grenadine, pineapple, lime, bitters     $20

 

 

The menu is divided into "Garden", "Small Plates", "Curries" and "Large Plates" though the division seems a little arbitrary. I couldn't really work out what constituted "Garden" (which includes the likes of Crab Lettuce Cups / Avocado Summer Rolls / Prawn Papaya Salad / Soft Shell Crab Salad / Wok-tossed Mushrooms) but it hardly matters. Most things were priced between $20 and $35 and I notice the curries all leaned Thai with the menu also encompassing Chinese and Vietnamese flavours.

 

• Duck Pâté - Warm Banh Mi, Umeboshi jelly     $8
• Tiger Prawn Toast - Sriracha cheese sauce, sweet chilli, green rice flake, turmeric sourdough     $20
• Cured Kingfish - Coconut, apple, fish roe, coriander stalk, rice, nahn jim, crisps (GF* DF)     $21 
• Duck Fried Rice - 63 degree egg, confit duck leg, sate, smoked duck fat, corn, pickle (GF* DF)     $24
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the waiter's recommendation we actually had one pate each and initially they did looked completely unbalanced! The quenelle of pate and plum dots seemed tiny against the baguette. But the bread was light and hot and fluffy and the pate really intense so it turned out to be exactly the right amount. Top marks.

 

In fact everything was outstanding. The Prawn toast was a brilliant reinvention of the yum cha snack with thick fried turmeric bread topped with a sriracha cheese mixture oozing cheesy deliciousness, all covered with prawns and a great layer of crispy green rice flakes which replaced the more usual sesame seeds. It looked and tasting sensational - simply fantastic!

 

The kingfish was fresh and perfectly balanced, the crisp apple and coconut foam combining with the pop of tiny fish eggs, the flavours perfect together and cut just right to sit on the housemade rice crisps.

 

And the duck egg rice - the only "large plate" - was brilliant. Perfect duck and the tastiest rice you can imagine: that smoked duck fat elevates the rice to a different plane, especially with the unctuous egg yolk flowing into it. Yum.

 

So that's it. We were blown away. I can't wait to get back and try everything else - y'all in Papamoa are very lucky!

 

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Dish of The Week #1 - Tiger Prawn Toast @ Lantern

Lantern - 20 Domain Road, Papamoa 3118, NZ

 

 — Tiger Prawn Toast —

Sriracha cheese sauce, sweet chilli, green rice flake, turmeric sourdough

$20